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Netizen 24 IRL: Region braces for more violence after US move on Jerusalem

Region braces for more violence after US move on Jerusalem The Middle East is braced for a second day of violence after tensions flared in t...

Region braces for more violence after US move on Jerusalem

The Middle East is braced for a second day of violence after tensions flared in the region on Thursday following the United Statesâ decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move its embassy to the contested city.

Demonstrations took place in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jerusalem itself as Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police. At least 31 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire and rubber bullets, one seriously, medics reported.

Israel also confirmed it launched strikes at Gaza after it said that three rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip, with one landing in Israeli territory.

Hamas, the Palestinian-based Islamist group, called for a âday of rageâ on Friday, prompting expectations of further violence in the region during the day of prayer, traditionally a flashpoint for protests at moments of heightened tension.

As international condemnation of the United Statesâ unilateral move to formally recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital continued, the UN Security Council was due to meet in New York today.

More than half of the 15-member body, including Britain and France, demanded a discussion in the wake of US President Donald Trumpâs announcement on Wednesday, which represents a departure from decades of US foreign policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While the European Union again underscored its opposition to the move on Thursday, insisting that Jerusalem must be the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state, in the United States dozens of members of Congress welcomed Mr Trumpâs decision.

Drastic regression

Though welcomed by many at home, Mr Trumpâs decision has sparked outrage abroad, with countries across the Muslim world as well as Russia, China and a host of European countries condemning the decision.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met with Jordanâs King Abdullah on Thursday to discuss the development. Though a US ally, Jordan has condemned the move as âlegally nullâ.

Saudi Arabia, which has also developed a close relationship with the Trump administration, called on the US to reverse its decision, describing it as a âdrastic regression in the efforts to move the peace process forwardâ.

Mr Trump reversed decades of US policy on the Middle East on Wednesday by formally recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a highly contentious issue given that both Israelis and Palestinians claim the city as their capital.

In a speech in the White House, he said the decision was a ârecognition of realityâ and that it was âalso the right thing to doâ, adding: âItâs something that has to be done.â

âIsrael is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace,â he added, as he also announced plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Bold action

Addressing reporters in the White House on Thursday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was not aware of any other countries that were planning to follow the lead of the US and move their embassies to Jerusalem. âIâm not saying that they arenât, but Iâm not aware of them.â

She described the US presidentâs announcement on Jerusalem as âa very courageous and bold actionâ, and something that Congress supported.

Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, Federica Mogherini, the EUâs foreign affairs chief, said the US announcement âhas a very worrying potential impactâ for peace in the region. âIt could send us backwards into even darker times than the ones we are already living in.â

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan also spoke by phone on Thursday, and expressed serious concern about Washingtonâs decision on Jerusalem.

In a statement after the call, the Kremlin said that both leaders had agreed that further esc alation of tensions in the Middle East could not be allowed, and that the focus should be on finding compromises, including on Jerusalem.

The message was very different in Israel, where prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a speech in Israelâs foreign ministry: âPresident Trump has immortalised himself in the chronicles of our capital. His name will now be held aloft, alongside other names connected to the glorious history of Jerusalem and of our people.â

While Hamas called for a âday of rageâ said it would be âthe first day of the intifada against the occupierâ, Mr Abbasâs Fatah party urged protests to be peaceful.